Court hands down 2 life sentences to terrorist who murdered IDF soldier

Malek Hamed, who killed IDF soldier Elchai Taharlev in April when he rammed his car into him, was given two life sentences by a military court. He was also ordered to pay NIS 280,000 in compensation to the victim's family.

A military court on Wednesday handed down two life sentences on Malek Hamed, 23, who murdered IDF soldier Elchai Taharlev in a ramming attack back in April near the West Bank settlement of Ofra.

According to the indictment, Hamed admitted to Shin Bet interrogators that he had made two other attempts to kill Israelis in the four months that preceded the attack. Both times he changed his mind at the last minute after seeing the large number of security forces in the area.

The indictment also stated that Hamed carried out the attack on his own, but that he was inspired to do so by two of his friends who had committed terror attacks as well.